The Bush administration strikes back against the deceptive media. I hope you were watching The Factor last night, when we established beyond a reasonable doubt that there were indeed ties between Al Qaeda (search) and Iraq, and that newspaper headlines denying that were misleading and/or downright wrong.
Vice President Cheney agreed. Here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What "The New York Times" did today was outrageous. They do a lot of outrageous things, but the headline, "Panel Finds No Al Qaeda-Iraq Tie," the press wants to run out and say there's a fundamental split here now between what the president said and what the commission said. Jim Thompson, who's a member of the commission, has since been on the air. I saw him with my own eyes, and there's no conflict.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'REILLY: Cheney has a right to be angry, and so does every American who wants a truthful media. "The Wall Street Journal" editorialized the situation this way: "The 'no Saddam link' story is getting so much play because it fits the broader anti-war, anti-Bush narrative that Iraq was a 'distraction' from the broader war on terror. So once again the 9/11 Commission is being used to tarnish the Iraqi effort and damage President Bush's credibility in fighting terror."
And that's the importance of this matter, ladies and gentlemen. Anti-Bush zealots are hurting the fight against terror by misleading Americans about what's actually happening. That puts all of our lives in danger.
Now I knew when I presented the facts linking Al Qaeda to Iraq that the far left would accuse me of shilling for the president. Viewer Jason Gambone, who lives in Palm Coast, Florida quickly echoed the far left response.
"O'Reilly, you and the Bush administration cheerleaders at Fox News are spinning the Saddam-Al Qaeda 9/11 connection like a frisbee. It's time for you to face the reality that President Bush misled the nation."
That opinion, of course, is nonsense, and here's the proof. In a CIA letter to the Select Committee on Intelligence dated October 9, 2002, then CIA Chief George Tenet writes, "We have solid reporting of senior level contacts between Iraq and Al Qaeda going back a decade...We have credible reporting that Al Qaeda leaders sought contacts in Iraq who could help them acquire WMD capabilities."
Now we have posted that entire CIA letter on billoreilly.com if you want to read it. Also, just today, Russian President Putin said he himself gave the Bush administration intelligence, after 9/11, that Saddam was preparing to launch terror attacks inside the USA. That report comes from the Associated Press.
Now all of this information "Talking Points" is giving you is solid. It is fact, not opinion. President Bush was told by the CIA and foreign intelligence outfits that there was immediate danger to America. But those facts will not matter to the anti-Bush fanatics, who put partisan politics ahead of both truth and national security.
As you know, we're independent here, but I'm getting awful tired, awful tired, of the far left lying and endangering us all.
And that's "The Memo."
The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day
Time now for "The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day"...
The Democratic convention is just six weeks away in Boston, and now comes word the Dems will honor Senator Edward Kennedy (search), a hometown boy. One problem, the convention dates the mark of the 35th anniversary of Chappaquiddick, the scandal where Mary Jo Kopechne (search) was killed in accident that involved Kennedy. So you have to figure that anti-Kennedy forces will use this situation as a hammer and you can decide if that's ridiculous or not.
--You can watch Bill O'Reilly's "Talking Points Memo" and "Most Ridiculous Item" weeknights at 8 & 11p.m. ET on the Fox News Channel. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com
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